CS2 crosshair codes store every crosshair setting in one string, so you can back up your own crosshair or load someone else's in a few clicks. Valve rebuilt CS2's crosshairs in September 2026, changing the settings, the styles, the console commands and the code format itself. This guide describes the system as it stands in the game build of October 22, 2026.
How to change crosshair in CS2
Open Settings with the gear icon and pick the Crosshair / Scopes tab. Valve added that tab in the Rush Hour update on September 22, 2026; before then the crosshair sat under the Game tab. It is split into Style Settings, Crosshair Settings, Sniper Sights and Grenade Line-up, with a preview of your crosshair that Start Dynamic Preview sets moving.
Length, thickness and gap are now measured in pixels. Valve's own example: for a crosshair 1 pixel wide with 8-pixel bars and a 4-pixel gap, set thickness 1, length 8 and gap 4. The game rescales those values when you change resolution, so a 2-pixel crosshair set up at 1280x720 becomes 4 pixels at 2560x1440 and keeps its proportions. The game's interface carries a note that "the scale of this setting has changed", so a crosshair carried over from before the update may need retuning.
Importing and sharing a crosshair code
The crosshair preview has a Share or Import button. The window it opens shows your current code, which you can copy and keep, and a field for someone else's. Paste a code, press Import, and the crosshair changes at once. As Dexerto advises, copy your own code first so you can go back.
Codes are older than CS2. CS:GO's February 25, 2020 update, which Valve said made customising a crosshair easier than ever, let players "share your crosshair code with others or import a code to try someone else's". Those codes, and CS2's until September 2026, read CSGO- followed by five groups of five characters separated by dashes.
On September 30, 2026 Valve changed the format so a code can carry the new settings, including the size and colour of the scope dot. esports.gg, updating its list of codes on October 5, 2026, reported that CS2 no longer accepts codes from before the update; the new codes it lists start with CS and have no dashes. When a code fails, the game says "Invalid or old crosshair code". Ask the owner for a fresh one or copy the settings by hand.
The game's command list still contains apply_crosshair_code, but the current build flags it as development-only, so use the menu.
How to copy a crosshair in CS2
You can also take a crosshair straight from a player in your match. As Dexerto describes it, press Tab to open the scoreboard, click the player's name, choose Copy Crosshair and answer Yes when the game asks to replace your current crosshair, which the copy overwrites.
Whether you see other players' crosshairs while spectating depends on Show Player Crosshairs: off, friends and party only, or everyone (cl_show_observer_crosshair 0, 1 or 2). Set it to everyone to see a crosshair before you copy it.
The ten CS2 crosshair styles
Style changed most. CS2 now has ten, numbered 0 to 9 for the cl_crosshairstyle command:
| No. | Style in the menu | How it behaves |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Dynamic Cross | Opens up with the weapon's real inaccuracy |
| 1 | Dynamic Circle | A circle that does the same |
| 2 | Dynamic Cross (Classic) | The pre-update dynamic style; negative gaps since September 30 |
| 3 | Static Circle | A circle that stays fixed |
| 4 | Static Cross | A fixed four-bar cross |
| 5 | Dynamic Cross (Legacy/Shot Feedback) | The old Legacy style, reacting to shots |
| 6 | Dot Only | Only the centre dot |
| 7 | Dynamic Quadrant | Default since September 22, 2026 |
| 8 | Static Square | Added September 23 |
| 9 | Static Quadrant | Added September 30 |
If you played Classic Static before the update, Static Cross is its successor: both are style 4. The old menu's other names (Default, Default Static, Classic, Classic Dynamic, Legacy) are gone.
The game's help text in late September named styles 0, 1 and 7 as the ones tracking a weapon's actual inaccuracy. Valve's notes explain the idea: a 64-pixel baseline covers the weapons with the most spread, and the Dynamic Spread Limit setting caps how far the crosshair opens, so the dynamic styles show how accurate your gun really is.
CS2 dot crosshair
For a dot, pick Dot Only, style 6. You can also build one from the regular settings: turn on Center Dot (cl_crosshairdot 1) and set Length to 0, so the bars disappear and only the dot is left. An outline, which the game adds "for better visibility", can be full, half or off.
Crosshair console commands
Every slider has a console variable, which is handy if you keep settings in a config file. Our console commands guide explains how to open the console and set up an autoexec. These are the crosshair commands in the October 22, 2026 build:
| Command | What it sets | Values |
|---|---|---|
cl_crosshairstyle | Style | 0–9 |
cl_crosshair_length | Bar length in pixels | 0–255 |
cl_crosshair_thickness | Bar thickness in pixels | 0–32 |
cl_crosshair_gap | Gap offset in pixels | Negative or positive |
cl_crosshairdot | Centre dot | 0 or 1 |
cl_crosshair_t | T-style, without the top bar | 0 or 1 |
cl_crosshair_drawoutline | Outline | 0 none, 1 full, 2 half |
cl_crosshaircolor_r, _g, _b, _a | Colour and opacity | 0–255 each |
cl_crosshairoutline_r, _g, _b, _a | Outline colour and opacity | 0–255 each |
cl_crosshair_recoil | Follow Recoil | 0 or 1 |
cl_crosshair_dynamic_spread_limit | How far dynamic styles open | 0–255 |
Lines from older configs need translating. cl_crosshairgap, cl_crosshaircolor (the old colour presets), cl_crosshairusealpha and cl_crosshair_outlinethickness no longer exist, and cl_crosshairsize and cl_crosshairthickness are now hidden. Use the new names above.
Grenade, sniper and other settings
Follow Recoil. With this on, the crosshair "will leave the center of the screen to follow the weapon recoil pattern", as the menu puts it.
Grenade Line-up. Each grenade type can show its own line-up crosshair once the pin has been pulled for a delay you set, and Keep Regular Crosshair leaves your normal one visible alongside it. The reticle arrived in April 2024, covered in our April 2024 update article. Since September 30, 2026 it also appears during freeze time if you hold a grenade's attack button.
Sniper Sights. cl_crosshair_sniper_width above 1 widens the lines in a sniper scope. The scope dot has its own scale, from 0.1 to 2 (cl_ironsight_dot_scale), and an option to use your crosshair colour. Both now travel with your share code.
For everything else in the update, from Rush mode to silent reloads, see our Rush Hour update article.
Sources
- Counter-Strike 2 Update (September 22, 2026) — Counter-Strike 2 news
- Counter-Strike 2 Update (September 23, 2026) — Counter-Strike 2 news
- Counter-Strike 2 Update (September 30, 2026) — Counter-Strike 2 news
- CS2 convar dump, build of October 22, 2026 — SteamTracking on GitHub
- CS2 English UI strings — SteamTracking on GitHub
- CS:GO patch notes, February 25, 2020 — Steam News
- Best CS2 crosshair codes used by pros — Dexerto
- Best CS2 crosshair codes and settings after the September 2026 update — esports.gg
